ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has challenged the administration of President Bola Tinubu to explain public expenditure allegedly omitted from Nigeria’s recent budgets, as highlighted by the International Monetary Fund.
He described the development as evidence of what he called “institutional corruption” at the highest levels of government.
Reacting to the IMF’s disclosure that public spending equivalent to two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product was excluded from recent budget documentation, Atiku said the revelation raises serious constitutional and accountability issues that require immediate investigation.
In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president argued that the omission could not be dismissed as a mere accounting error.
“If, as the IMF has revealed, expenditure amounting to two per cent of Nigeria’s GDP was omitted from the budget process, then Nigerians are entitled to one simple question: Who stole the missing two per cent of our GDP?” he said.
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According to Atiku, “This is no longer an accounting discrepancy” but “a constitutional, legal and moral scandal.”
“Money does not simply disappear from a national budget. Somebody authorised it. Somebody approved it. Somebody spent it. Somebody benefited from it. Nigerians deserve to know who those people are,” he stated.
The ADC chieftain also linked the IMF’s findings to the recent controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which the Presidency has denied establishing, saying both issues reflect what he described as a broader pattern of abuse of public institutions.
He argued that it was disturbing that while the Federal Ministry of Health reportedly received only ₦36 million in releases despite having a budgetary allocation of over ₦218 billion, the controversial agency allegedly received about ₦1.3 billion.
“Nothing better illustrates the warped priorities of this administration than a government that starves hospitals and healthcare programmes of funds while ghost agencies somehow find billions waiting for them. This is not fiscal management; it is institutionalised corruption,” Atiku said.
He also called on the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, to explain how the alleged agency was recognised within government processes.
“The Secretary to the Government of the Federation owes Nigerians a duty of candour. He must come clean. The country deserves to know who authorised the recognition of the so-called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and under whose directive government institutions accorded it official status,” he said.
Atiku further referred to allegations made by Adeniyi Adeyemi, the principal figure linked to the controversy, who reportedly claimed that the dispute arose after he rejected a demand for a 48 per cent kickback from the Office of the Chief of Staff over a proposed ₦27.3 billion take-off grant for the agency.
Describing the allegation as too weighty to ignore, Atiku called for an independent investigation.
“If the allegations are false, let the government prove them through an open investigation. If they are true, then every official connected with this scandal, regardless of rank or office, must be removed immediately and handed over to the appropriate security agencies for prosecution,” he said.
He further argued that the controversy comes at a time when Nigerians are grappling with the effects of fuel subsidy removal, rising electricity tariffs, high inflation, multiple taxes and increasing public debt.
“It is both ironic and cruel that citizens are being asked to make endless sacrifices while government itself cannot transparently explain where enormous public resources have gone,” he said.
The former vice president urged the National Assembly, the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Public Accounts Committees of both chambers, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate the matter.
Atiku maintained that the issue goes beyond partisan politics and touches on the core principles of constitutional governance and public accountability.
“The books must be opened. Every naira must be traced. Every expenditure must be justified. Every official found culpable must be held accountable,” he said.
He added that until the government provides a satisfactory explanation for the alleged off-budget spending, “every claim of transparency by this administration will ring hollow.”
The IMF, in its recent assessment of Nigeria’s public finances, expressed concern over major fiscal reporting gaps, stating that government expenditure equivalent to about two per cent of the country’s GDP was not reflected in the national budget framework.
The Fund recommended stronger fiscal transparency, improved budget reporting and tighter public financial management to strengthen accountability.
The IMF’s disclosure comes amid the controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, following claims that the body operated within government circles despite the Presidency maintaining that President Bola Tinubu never established such an agency.
The controversy has prompted opposition figures and civil society organisations to call for a comprehensive investigation into the allegations and the management of Nigeria’s public finances.